A casket has a lower body containing shell to which is pivoted, in the case of so-called “full top” for “full couch” caskets, a single full length lid or “cap,” and in the case of so-called “split top” or “cut top” caskets, a pair of lids—a head end cap and a foot end cap. Burial caskets have traditionally been constructed of either fine furniture grade wood or highly polished sheet metal. Sheet metal caskets are fabricated from a number of preformed sheet metal panels which are joined together by welding. As such, sheet metal caskets have continuous, essentially leak-free, joints adjoining adjacent sheet metal panels. Sheet metal caskets are known in the industry as “sealable” caskets, that is, there is a sealing gasket between the shell and cap in a full top casket, and in a cut top casket between the shell and the caps and between the caps themselves. Examples of sealing gaskets for use in sealable sheet metal caskets may been seen with reference to the assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,093,968, 4,868,957, 2,533,828 and 2,533,827, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in their entirety. Sealable caskets prevent the escape of bodily fluids and gases prior to interment, and prevent rain water from entering the casket after burial. Wood caskets, on the other hand, are generally not fabricated as “sealable” in light of the fabrication techniques associated with joining the wood panels of a wood casket and since after burial a wood casket rapidly decomposes.
Memorialization has of late become quite important in the funeral industry. Attempts have been made to provide the family members with a dignified, meaningful means of memorializing the deceased and in doing so to permit the grieving family members to play a more integral role in the bereavement process. To that end, the assignee has provided, as disclosed in its U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,727,291 and 5,611,124, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in their entirety, a designated, easily accessible receptacle or compartment forming a part of the casket for either the placement of personal effects of the deceased therein or the inclusion therein of mementos of memorialization by the deceased's family and friends.
It would be desirable to further advance the invention of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,727,291 and 5,611,124 by specifically adapting it to the construction of sealable caskets.